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Ambient Maximalism in Synths, Strings, Harps, and Horns. A sonic excursion, taking inspiration from public parks across the globe, Big Majestic features Kronos Quartet soaring above desert vistas on West Coast Sky Forever, Shabaka Hutchings' kaleidoscopic shakuhachi and tenor saxophone meditations on Spiritual Sun and Primrose Hill, James McVinnie performing an electrifying synth organ epic on Blue Sky | Mirrored Glass, and the otherworldly voice of Lisel beckoning the listener into the unknown.

American Pulitzer Prize winning composer and sound artist Ellen Reid is set to release ‘Big Majestic,’ an album of music written for her acclaimed GPS-enabled work of public art, Ellen Reid SOUNDWALK, that reimagines urban parks as interactive soundscapes. The album features performances by the Kronos Quartet and Shabaka Hutchings. SOUNDWALK premiered in New York's Central Park, and continues to expand to urban parkland around the world, including Los Angeles' Griffith Park, London's Regent's Park & Primrose Hill, and Tokyo's Ueno Park. The project has already been featured on NPR, the New York Times, the Washington Post, and the LA Times.

Das mit Spannung erwartete vierte Studioalbum ”Death or Glory” des aus Los Angeles stammenden Trios
Palaye Royale. ”Death or Glory” bietet einen faszinierenden Einblick in eine transformative und grandiose
musikalische Reise. Als Hymne an die Widerstandsfähigkeit und Selbstfindung verkörpert das Album die
künstlerische Entwicklung und das Engagement der Band, die Grenzen von Glam-Rock, Art-Punk und
Brit-Pop zu einem unverwechselbaren Sound zu verschieben.
Nach der Veröffentlichung der Doppel-EPs „Sextape“ und „Songs For Sadness“ und dem Alternative Radio
Smash ”Dead To Me” kehren Palaye Royale mit ihrem brandneuen Studioalbum „Death Or Glory“ zurück,
begleitet von einer weltweiten Headlinertour im Sommer!

Two classically trained musicians from vastly different traditions, MD Pallavi and Andi Otto came together to create a jewel of a record in ’Songs for Broken Ships’ and Multi Culti have whipped up a stunning remix package for it featuring Simone de Kunovich, Auntie Flo, Peter Power, Kaleema and more.

Hailing from Bangalore, trained in Hindustani music and poetry since childhood, MD Pallavi’s beautiful voice makes an elegant companion to cellist / composer / producer Andi Otto’s idiosyncratic and unconventional style. Andi’s music has featured on labels such as Shika Shika and Pingipung (which he co-runs and curates) and, of course, Multi Culti, who released his previous album ‘Bow Wave’ which featured his first collaboration with Pallavi.

While the heart of "Songs for Broken Ships" showcased the duo's unique meld of cross-cultural folktronica and acoustic ballads with MD Pallavi's poetic Kannada verses at the core, "Remixes from the Clouds” reframes these elements for a vast spectrum of electronic listeners and club go-ers.

An ethereal hypnotic techno re-interpretation of ‘Prayer to the Cloud’ from Italian producer Simone de Kunovich. Scottish ambient maestro and mushroom aficionado Auntie Flo's ecstatic reinterpretation of "Clockshop". Multi Culti veteran downtempo wizard Peter Power's organic and earthy rendition of "Prayer to the Cloud." The mystic sounds of Kaleema breathing new percussive life into "Clockshop". The package concludes with a 'prayer-a-pella' version of "Prayer to the Clouds", spotlighting MD Pallavi's vocals in their purest form, for DJs and producers seeking to slather their rhythms with spiritual voice.

The Multi Culti imaginarium also present an expanded digital package that includes mixes from Hannah Lee, Bliz Nochi & Emil Jourjou, Migramara, and Poligra. In the words of Shawn Christopher: "people from all nations, dancing together." Celestial harmony, one 12” at a time.

Crystal clear vinyl, limited to 200 copies. HEBI KATANA's 3rd full album, known as "Tokyo Samurai Doom"! The classic doom riff and mellow and dark melody reminiscent of THE OBSESSED and TROUBLE have become a hot topic mainly overseas. Both works have been released on CD/LP/cassette by domestic and international labels. Their dark yet melodious doom sound attracted attention, especially among doom/stoner enthusiasts around the world. This work, which is the third album, maintains the classic doom/hard rock sound that has been created up to now, but it also has a strong jam feeling honed through expeditions including overseas tours, and the band ensemble is truly impressive. It is a work of art. Coupled with member changes, the content gives a sense of significant growth and progress. In addition, the songs created through collaboration with seasoned live acts have a more vivid finish. Through songwriting that involves everyone's participation, each band's colors and characters are strongly reflected, and it can be said that the band is exploring a unique sound based on the doom/stoner sound. "Hallelujah Anyway" is a straightforward attack with a classic heavy riff and mellow chorus, "Depressed Blues" is a combination of a mid-tempo heavy riff and dark vocals In the second half, "Darkest Priest" develops into a more doomy shuffle boogie, and "Lost" drifts from a dark arpeggio-driven melody to a heavy and sinking development, and the songs included are rich and fulfilling. The yellowtail is something to behold. The rapid advance of "Tokyo Samurai Doom" begins now!

The records is released in two options. Both hvae 180g vinyl records. The first version has two black vinyls and the second limited edition (numbered 100 pieces) has one turquoise vinyl and the other red.

Over the last three decades, Auckland, New Zealand, has given birth to several generations of musicians, DJs, and producers who operated within the interzone between jazz, blues, soul, funk, Latin music, hip-hop, house, boogie, and broken beat. Across two slow-cooked albums that sit at the intersection of machine funk and vivid live instrumentation, Odyssey (2016) and their forthcoming sophomore release Long Road (2024), After 'Ours - the group project of pianist and composer Michal Martyniuk and drummer, guitarist and producer Nick Williams - have comfortably located themselves within this antipodean tradition.

Born and raised in Auckland, Nick Williams grew up surrounded by music from a young age. At home, his mother, Mary Anne, a record collector and DJ with deep, diverse vinyl crates, kept his ear sharp. By the time he was eight years old, he was regularly joining his musician father on stages across Australia in his blues rock band Slippery Sam. In his early twenties, Nick began leading the eleven-piece Auckland Latin-dub-funk fusion big band Tangent, who performed regularly until the late 2000s.

Michal Martyniuk, on the other hand, grew up on the opposite side of the world in Szczecin, Poland. After playing classical music for twelve years and attending jazz school, he relocated to New Zealand with his family in his teens. While studying at Auckland University Jazz school, Michal came into the orbit of the legendary New Zealand saxophonist, composer, producer, and band leader Nathan Haines, who brought him into the same world as future collaborators like Tama Waipara, Batacada Sound Machine, Sola Rosa and Nick.

Inspired by the rich stories of jazz, neo-soul, electronica, and dance music from both sides of the Atlantic Ocean and the open-eared Auckland scene they emerged from, After 'Ours formed in 2011. Born out of a friendship cultivated through playing together at bars and nightclubs around town and home studio sessions. "Nick had family and work, so I had to wait all day," Michal says. "We'd come to the studio at 10 PM and go till 3 AM. That's how we came up with the name.

Session by session, After 'Ours revealed itself to be a creatively fertile meeting of minds. "We both have our angles, but it works well in the end," Nick reflects. "It takes the music to a place we can't get to by ourselves."

Between 2011 and 2016, they wrote and recorded Odyssey with a cast of musical collaborators that included KP, Sharlene Hector & Kevin Mark Trail (UK), Matt Nanai, Nathan Haines, Jakub Skowronski, Nick's partner Ange Williams (nee Saunders) and British producer Mike Patto from the lauded UK future jazz group Reel People. Influenced by the smooth yacht rock of Steely Dan and Donald Fagan, the warm midtempo bounce of A Tribe Called Quest and J Dilla, and the complex jazz/RnB bop of Robert Glasper, Odyssey was a labour of love that emphasised community, warm-hearted hospitality, and care.

Seven years on, they're finally ready to return with Long Road, an album that contains some of their best work yet. As well as reconnecting with past collaborators Kevin Mark Trail and Ange Williams, Long Road sees After 'Ours calling on assistance from Louis Baker, Jakarta-based saxophone player Kuba Skowroński, bassist Dan Antunovich, Los Angeles-based drummer Chris Bailey and the journeyman British soul artist Omar Lyefook.

Across ten songs that plot a stargazed course through their antipodean spin on UK broken beat, jazz, modern soul, and blues rock, Nick and Michal build on everything they learned while writing and recording Odyssey. In the process, they take their joyful musical visions to sublime new heights.

Pink Rhythm was one of John Rocca"s mid-80"s solo side projects and a somewhat evolution of his pioneering early-80s band, Freeez. After Freeez ended, John still had some ideas left over which he explored with Andy Stennett of Freeez. John also re-worked one of the final jazz funk songs written (but unused) by Freeez called "India". He named the project Pink Rhythm after his self-funded, entrepreneurial record label that he used to launch Freeez. Pink Rhythm lasted a brief year or two, between 1984 and 1985. In 1985, three singles were released, including "Melodies Of Love, which has become a cult favorite. It has been described as "timeless drum-machine soul music" and a "cult funk slow jam". Over the years, John Rocca"s music has been sampled by many, including Jamie xx, Empress Of, Brandy, Burial, Todd Terry, Coolio, Cut Chemist and more. Often credited as one of the pioneers of brit-funk, John"s music is iconic and has been used in TV/Movies like; Better Call Saul, Midsommar, Irma Vep plus the fashion world for brands including Calvin Klein, Louis Vuitton and more. "Melodies of Love" - though never a pop hit - was recently been used the Joaquin Phoenix film Beau is Afraid as well as in the acclaimed British Film Blue Jean. It was also recently featured in a high-end ad campaign for Piaget. It is pure, smooth 80s drum machines, it is synth sounds, saxophones and keyboards.... it"s retro, but it could also be current. Either way, it"s as refreshing now as it was then.

Issued on vinyl for the first time and pressed on 2 x 140g black vinyl, Juno Reactor’s 2004s album, ‘Labyrinth’, their 6th long player. Ben Watkins is an essential innovator of modern electronic music and a pioneer of Trance. Over the course of nearly 30 years, Watkins has created a unique driving fusion of electronica, orchestral and global music executed on an epic & symphonic scale. Juno Reactor was formed as an art project in 1990. Ben Watkins wanted to collaborate with other artists, producing exciting projects that were not commercially driven. He wanted to create experimental music and non-musical soundtracks that would work with installations, art pieces, and film projects. Labyrinth ranges from orchestral, industrial, and techno as well as containing Juno Reactor's trademark tribal sound (possibly as best featured in Conquistador II). The album also features two songs from Watkins' collaboration with The Matrix composer Don Davis on the films The Matrix Reloaded and The Matrix Revolutions, "Mona Lisa Overdrive" (from Reloaded) and "Navras" (from Revolutions). As well as releasing a string of influential albums as Juno Reactor, Watkins’ tracks have been placed in numerous highprofile feature films, television programmes and computer games and Ben Watkins composed large sections of the original score for the films The Matrix Reloaded and The Matrix Revolutions, as well as composing the entire orchestral score for Japanese anime feature film Brave Story.

2024 Repress

140g schwarzes Vinyl, mit Spot UV-Sleeve, 2LP 45rpm. Das beste Post-Rock-Album aller Zeiten" - Fact Mag // ,Ihr Einfluss ist allgegenwärtig` - The Quietus // ,Mysteriös, eindringlich und atemberaubend visionär` - Allmusic // Bark Psychosis waren eine der innovativsten Bands ihrer Zeit und der Legende nach wurde der Begriff ,Post-Rock` erstmals von Musikkritiker Simon Reynolds verwendet. Nach mehreren Singles und EPs erschienen die avantgardistischen, auf Drones und Samples basierenden Klanglandschaften des 21-minütigen Titeltracks ,Scum" nur zwei Jahre vor ihrem bahnbrechenden Debüt ,Hex" (1994). Ihr Sound entstand aus ihren Improvisationen in einem provisorischen Studio in der St John's Church in Stratford. Die Fertigstellung von ,Hex" dauerte ein Jahr und brachte die Band an den Rand des Zusammenbruchs, so dass sie sich zum Zeitpunkt der Veröffentlichung bereits aufgelöst hatte. Indem sie ihre Songs zerlegten und im Studio neu zusammensetzten, entstanden charakteristische Ambient-Soundscapes und ein atmosphärischer, experimenteller Sound. Letztes Jahr hat das Fact Magazine das Album verdientermaßen auf den ersten Platz der ,30 Best Post-Rock Albums Of All Time" gesetzt. Neu gemastert im Jahr 2017 von den originalen analogen Bändern in den Metropolis Studios von Graham Sutton und Stuart Hawkes.

Adam Beyer and Green Velvet’s behemoth co-production ’Simulator’ gets a trio of fresh remixes.

Something special happens with Beyer collaborates with Curtis Jones aka Green Velvet, with last year’s ‘Simulator’ a timely reminder of their musical synergy, following the 2019 classic ‘Space Date’ with Layton Giordani.
A year on from its release, Drumcode treats us to three contrasting interpretations that epitomise the sonic breadth of the label in 2024.

Mha Iri is first up having established herself as one of Drumcode’s most vital go-to producers in recent times. The Scottish artist turns in a blazing masterclass, taking the nasty bass stabs of the original and utilising them as thunderous motifs throughout her remix, as she brings intensity in spades with plenty of thrilling builds and drops along the way.

Emerging Australian artist Odd Mobb is next, whose music has been championed by the likes of Fred Everything and Skrillex. He brings the energy throughout the four-minute rework, amplifying all the low-end elements, while adding fresh bursts of colour. It’s a dynamic reinterpretation that will keep listeners on their feet.

Chris Avantgarde, whose contributions to Drumcode have so far comprised an outstanding collab with Kevin de Vries ‘Mind Control’ and an A-Sides contribution ‘The Last Time’, returns with the goods and lives up to his boundary-pushing pseudonym. This has more sides than a rubix cube and shows the German’s sound design class, encompassing elements of breaks, bass, electronica and techno, yet still manages not to sound like anything else out there.

Pressed on Limited Edition Neon Green Ripple Effect vinyl in the DC House bag.

Neil Feather has spent decades creating a musical world of his own through dozens of one-of-a-kind instruments he invented and built himself. His work as an instrument inventor, improviser, musical iconoclast, and stalwart of the idiosyncratic Baltimore experimental scene culminated in the late 2010s when filmmaker Skizz Cyzyk shot hours of footage of Feather taking stock of his workshop and his collaborations with musicians from Baltimore and beyond as he prepared to relocate permanently to New Zealand. That period produced Sound Mechanic, Skizz’s 2022 feature-length documentary about Feather’s work and music. It also produced an album-length collection of recordings of Feather’s music from the film that captures the spectrum of his unique sonic vision. Uninterested in the traditional rules and roles of music from his early years, Feather began constructing noisemakers out of what was around him—pieces of metal, spare parts from bikes and other gadgets, discarded traditional instruments, various electronics, ball bearings, and so on. By the time he moved to Baltimore in 1985, his work had become more codified into a practice of instruments and families of instruments, such as the Nondo, the Vibrawheel, and the Former Guitars. At the same time, he became a mainstay of the burgeoning experimental / improvised music scene that erupted from the Red Room and the internationally renowned High Zero Festival.

We are excited to announce the first release of the revamped Italo Deviance Music: "Arredo" (alias of Marcello Giordani). This record includes two outstanding tracks, each with its own unique character. The first track, "Fear Fighter," stands out for its hypnotic Afro/House direction, enriched with synthesizer sounds that capture the imagination and transport the listener to an evocative sonic dimension. The remix of "Fear Fighter" is entrusted to the ren owned Danish artist Kasper Björke, who offers an elegant and refined version, perfectly in line with his distinctive style. The second track, "Blue Spotlight," evokes the classic mid - 80s Dance Library sound, presented in an extended version with Italo nua nces. The remix of this track is curated by Cosmo Dance, transforming it into an extraordinary electronic track inspired by early 80s Italian Disco productions. "Arredo " represents a perfect fusion of nostalgia and modernity, celebrating the past while innovating the present. With sophisticated remixes by Kasper Björke and Cosmo Dance, this release promises to captivate both veterans of the genre and new electronic music enthusiasts. Don't miss the chance to immerse yourself in this unique musical journey.

Get a taste of everybody's favourite terrestrial with something extra, Jimi Tenor and his fresh brand of galactic balladry with two single versions from his upcoming album on Timmion Records, "Is There Love In Outer Space?". On the A-side, the title track effortlessly merges cosmic synth flourishes with a soulful backbeat, Jimi's smooth vocal and flute stylings, delivering a splendid questioning continuum to Sun Ra's similarly named statement. Flipping to the B-side, the mostly instrumental "Orbiting Telesto" launches us to the outer rings of Saturn with a healthy helping of vintage sci-fi movie soundtrack and library music themes. Accompanied by the down and dirty energy of Cold Diamond & Mink, Jimi's seasoned artistry shines through, showcasing his ability to blend celestial sounds with gritty moondust funk. With these two tracks, Tenor teases our appetite for the two cosmically themed albums in the pipeline for 2024. These songs crafted together with the Timmion crew serve as a testament to Jimi's unique ability to create captivating moods that transcend the usual.

The Circus is a place of lights and colors, but also of shadows, even darkness. Admittedly, it delights children and makes adults laugh. But you only need one rainy autumn evening near a circus tent and the smell of fodder to think of the sadness of the clowns, the endless training of the animals and the freaks who are hidden in some caravan... cinema, the essence of the circus – movement, light, danger and burlesque – will have been admirably rendered in Notes on the circus by Jonas Mekas (1966), one of the inventors of the filmed diary. With Cirque, Michèle Bokanowski does similar work, entirely dedicated to spinning, in the musical field.

She distinguished herself in particular in the composition of musique concrète, among others Tabou and Trois chambres d'inquiétudes, after having studied with Pierre Schaeffer and Éliane Radigue. The latter, great lady of drone and minimalism, fell under the spell of Cirque and wrote the booklet for the piece as a poem.

The piece, divided into five movements, is based on the handling and editing of recordings captured within one or more circuses (this is not specified and is of no importance) between 1988 and 1993. The initial allegro reveals the gallop of a horse joined gradually by other images. The idea of the circular space of the circus tent is immediatly and magnificently rendered and will be constantly recalled by an insistent use of the loop technique. Children's laughter, applause and drum rolls are thus sheared, repeated before being brutally interrupted. Accordion interludes and the distortion of sounds create a dreamlike atmosphere. This beautiful nightmare reminds us, to quote Éliane Radigue, the "Magic of childhood still living in the heart of man even beyond its abrupt end."

Words by Alexandre Galand, from the book “Field Recording – L’usage sonore du monde en 100 albums” (ed. Le mot et le reste, 2012)

Major member of the french musique concrète scene, Michèle Bokanowski was born on August 9, 1943 in Cannes, FR, to a musician mother and a writer father. She now lives and works in Paris.
Music lover since adolescence, it was relatively late, at the age of 22, that Michèle Bokanowski decided to study composition. Reading In Search of a Concrete Music by Pierre Schaeffer was decisive. After classical training on harmony, she met Michel Puig, a student of René Leibowitz, who taught her writing and analysis based on the Treatise of Schönberg. In September 1970 she began a two-year internship in the ORTF Research Department under the direction of Pierre Schaeffer. She takes part in the same time in a research group on sound synthesis, studies musical computing at the Faculty of Vincennes and electronic music with Éliane Radigue.
Her main works are intended for concert: Pour un pianiste, Trois chambres d’inquiétude, Tabou, Phone Variations, Cirque, L’étoile Absinthe, Chant d’Ombre, Enfance, Rhapsodia, Cadence, Elsewhere. She has also composed for theater (with Catherine Dasté), dance (with choreographers Hideyuki Yano, Marceline Lartigue, Bernardo Montet) and cinema: music for the short films of Patrick Bokanowski and his two feature films L'Ange ( 1982) and A Solar Dream (2016).

Søren Skov Orbit's debut album, "Adrift," is at once subtle and profound. The saxophonist and his collaborators have created something quite special and consistently deep. This record may not easily be classifiable, but the most interesting music creeps between the lines

Danish tenor and soprano saxophonist Søren Skov (Debre Damo Dining Orchestra) and keyboardist Peder Vind co-founded the trippy quintet Søren Skov Orbit in 2016 to explore “more jazzy ideas,” as the saxophonist puts it. Joined by a rhythm section steeped in contemporary improvisation and psychedelia, bassist Casper Nyvang Rask, drummer Rune Lohse and percussionist Ayi Solomon of the legendary 80's Ghanaian roots/highlife band Classique Vibes, the Orbit belts out a richly focused helping of broadly African-inspired modern jazz with a hazy sheen.

On the opening “Notifications of Nothingness,” Skov digs in his heels, a steely but languid unspooling of burnished tenor lines atop condensed, quavering piano and the thick footfalls of bass and percussion. As a tenor player, Skov has done his homework and has a kinship with Albert Ayler, Archie Shepp, J.R. Monterose, and the Dutchman Hans Dulfer, but he clearly has got his own robust phraseology and expressiveness. He also cites multi-reedists John Gilmore, Yusef Lateef, and Bilal Abdurahman as, “some of the players I’ve been listening to the most for the last 10-15 years.”

A healthy dose of reverb is present throughout the album, echoing Alton Abraham’s studio wizardry with the Sun Ra Arkestra or the trance-inducing and compressed fidelity of certain Ethio-jazz and Mystic Revelations of Rastafari sessions. Skov notes that, “everything is recorded live at the same time in the same room. I wanted to do it that way in order to catch the dynamics and authenticity of the music.” There is, in fact, a complex teeter- totter between crisp and hazy execution, achieved by a delicately balanced mix that keeps the group’s sound simultaneously advancing and receding. Vind’s phrasing is terse and introspective, a vibrating echo that nudges and reflects on Skov’s brusque tenor in a dance of sonic displacement.

“Orbiting” pits a chunky backbeat and the teetering, taut hand-rhythms of Solomon against an infectious, almost microtonal piano riff, while Skov’s arpeggios are clean and florid as he patiently rises up from under a carpet of funky loops. Following the freer “Reflections of Rif,” “Naration” lilts with a wink at “Footprints” and tugs between up-tempo polyrhythmic drive, clanging keyboard accents, and the innately steadfast keenness of the bandleader. The coupling of Solomon and Lohse is a big part of the group’s detailed energy; as the leader puts it, “Ayi knows everything about regional differences in drum patterns. He is always listening and super responsive, and his and Rune’s dynamics are amazing.” The music both presents a “vibe” and keeps the door open for engaging well under the surface as repeated listens will be extremely rewarding.

"Civilians" lädt Fans auf eine Reise in Joe Henrys poetische
Lyrik ein. Das Album überzeugt mit einem Mix aus Jazz-, Folkund Blues-Einfl üssen. Begleitet von langjährigen Weƽefährten
kehrt Henry mit "Civilians" zu einem traditionellen SongwritingAnsatz zurück

Joe Henry is one of the artists who have shaped the sound of modern American folk and blues music like hardly anyone else. “Civilians”, his 10th studio album, was originally released in 2007. It takes the listener on an intimate journey into Henry’s poetic lyricism and is heavily influenced and inspired by the more melancholic sounds of folk and jazz music. Recorded in Henry’s home studio at the time, the Garfield House in Pasadena, the album has a raw and stripped-back feel, with several of Henry’s close friends and collaborators, like Loudon Wainwright III, Bill Frisell, Greg Leisz, and Van Dyke Parks, joining him in the studio to bring these songs to life. Now available on 180g black double vinyl for the first time ever, the 2024 reissue edition of “Civilians” features not only the 12 songs of the original release, but also previously unheard bonus material, including intimate demo versions of several songs on the album, as well as the all-new bonus track “Bread & Flowers”.

Kompakt is proud to announce, finally, a reissue of the first, self-titled GAS album. Originally released on electronica imprint Mille Plateaux back in 1996, it’s been unavailable in its original form ever since – the version of GAS included in 2008’s Nah Und Fern box featured several different tracks. Here, however, GAS is restored in all its glory, the debut full-length from Wolfgang Voigt’s most enigmatic, quixotic project.

There had, of course, been signs of what was to come. Back in 1995, Voigt essayed the first GAS release, a slender, yet remarkable four-track EP, Modern. Its centre label featured a reduced symbol – an overhead or lamp light, switched on, its glow radiating outwards in four bold black lines – a perfect representation of the tight, stylised ambient electronic pop contained on that 12”. A few curious compilation tracks were floating around, too, for Mille Plateaux’s Modulation & Transformation and Electric Ladyland series. If you were attentive enough, you could tell something was up.

But nothing quite prepared us for the languorous, effervescing loops and regular-like-clockwork beats that Voigt folded together on GAS. Its six long tracks, all untitled, neither begin nor end but hazily fade into earshot, vibrate majestically in your cochlea for fifteen-or-so minutes – some a bit shorter, some longer – and then meander away, reading the mise-en-scène for the next example of Voigt’s drift and dream logic to unfold. The material is referential in the most distant way, and you can sense only the most evanescent of ghostly presences, haunting these six compositions.

GAS feels, also, like a more pliable hint at what’s to come, as the GAS concept really solidified on its successor, 1997’s Zauberberg, and reach its apotheosis on Königsforst and Pop. Those three albums share a very similar palette – blurred, hazy samples, often of classical music, stacked and cross-thatched across a muted 4/4 thud. GAS, then, is an outlier of sorts: it’s more expansive in its remit, lighter in its mood, perhaps more fleet of foot. This, of course, is part of its charm.

In clearing space for Voigt, by preparing the terrain, GAS sits both at the edge of the forest, and at the verge of an expansive, wide-eyed future; one where GAS would become truly eternal.

Text by Jonathan Dale

Kompakt ist stolz, endlich eine Neuauflage des ersten, selbstbetitelten GAS-Albums ankündigen zu können. Ursprünglich im Jahr 1996 auf dem Electronica-Label Mille Plateaux veröffentlicht, ist es seitdem nicht mehr in seiner ursprünglichen Form erhältlich – die gleichnamige Version von GAS, die 2008 in der Nah Und Fern Box enthalten war, enthielt verschiedene andere Titel. Nun liegt das 3er Album in seinem naturbelassenen Originalzustand wieder vor.

Bereits 1995 zeichnete sich mit der Maxi GAS - Modern auf Profan, sowie einigen Kompilation-Beiträgen auf Modulation & Transformation und Electric Ladyland auf Mille Plateaux dieser frühe, weltentrückte, rätselhafte GAS Sound ab, der sich erst in den sechs scheinbar endlosen, majestätisch-sprudelnden Tracks des Albums voll entfaltete. Die Musik ist von ätherischer Leichtigkeit, in der wie aus einer anderen Sphäre abstrakte Referenzen aus weiter Ferne nur andeutungsweise herüberzuwehen scheinen.

Dieser frühe, eher sphärisch-leichte, gleich einer sonnendurchfluteten (Wald-)Lichtung anmutende GAS Sound, stellt gewissermaßen den Ausgangspunkt der audiovisuellen „Welt“-Reise in den düster-romantischen Acid-Wald dar, in den sich GAS ab 1997 mit den Alben Zauberberg, Königsforst, Oktember und ab 2000 mit Pop an anderer Stelle wieder hinaus und in seine ganz eigene Ewigkeit begeben hat.

Dark Entries again shines a spotlight on bathhouse disco don Patrick Cowley with a newly remastered release of Kickin’ In. Although Cowley tragically passed from AIDS-related illness in 1982, he left an extensive archive of unreleased tapes, many of which Dark Entries has had the honor of releasing. While working as a lighting technician at The City, SF’s disco cabaret, Cowley saw rising star Frank Loverde perform. Cowley asked Loverde to contribute vocals to some material in progress, and Frank, Linda Imperial, and Peggy Gibbons joined Cowley in the studio. The resulting songs included “Kickin’ In,” a 9-minute cybernetic disco stormer that taps into the essence of Cowley’s hi-NRG sound: equal parts spaced out and zoned in on the dancefloor. In May 1978 Cowley joined Loverde on stage at The City to perform “Kickin’ In” as they opened for disco diva Sylvester.

“Kickin’ In” was initially released in 2015 via Honey Soundsystem who found the tapes in the basement of Megatone Records owner John Hedges. This newly remastered version was made possible due to the discovery of the original multi-track recordings of "Kickin’ In," allowing for a fresh mixdown by Jim Hopkins as well as the creation of a new instrumental version. Also included are two impeccably sleazy Cowley jams recorded in 1980, “Thief of Love” and “Make It Come Loose.” Cowley narrates excerpts from his erotic journals on these raunchy slow-burners, capturing the vibe of SF’s leather bars and backrooms. “Thief of Love” features frequent Cowley collaborator Paul Parker on background vocals. This reissue of Kickin’ In includes features an illustration by Gwenaël Rattke that originally appeared Cowley’s erotic journal, Mechanical Fantasy Box, as well as a postcard with lyrics. “Patrick parted the veil and entered a dark world of forbidden vices, wondrous musical panoramas and bold, strident, hopeful possibilities. Patrick brought the future to us and laid it at our feet.” – David Diebold, Tribal Rites

The year 2020 sure wasn't the most ideal time to form a band, especially for a group of musicians who never played together before. But for New York rock quintet GIFT, this strangest of periods was the auspicious backdrop for a bold new sound - a dizzying blend of early shoegaze, classic `90s alternative rock and even modern pop. Indeed, that GIFT emerged somewhat fully formed on their 2022 debut album Momentary Presence was a testament to the creative possibilities laying deep within. Now, Illuminator, their Aug. 23 debut album for revered New York independent label Captured Tracks, is the long-awaited payoff of GIFT's ever-growing musical and human chemistry. And while nods are apparent to label forerunners such as Beach Fossils, DIIV and Wild Nothing, GIFT are shepherding those elements into wondrous new vessels for the present moment - sleek, often danceable and frequently mesmerizing. GIFT - vocalist/guitarist TJ Freda, multi-instrumentalists Jessica Gurewitz and Justin Hrabovsky, drummer Gabe Camarano and bassist Kallan Campbell - are firmly enmeshed in the New York scene as talent buyers, photographers, DJs, audio engineers, art directors and, in the case of Campbell, an owner of the beloved Brooklyn DIY venue Alphaville. GIFT introduced Illuminator with "Wish Me Away," their first new song in the 18 months since the debut. With its earworm guitar lines, propulsive rhythms, riveting vocals and mind-expanding aural flourishes, "Wish Me Away" is the perfect sonic springboard from Momentary Presence to where GIFT are going next. It's also a potent reminder that you can still preserve that twinkle in your eye even when you feel like everything's slipping away. On songs such as "Light Runner", "Going In Circles" and "Destination Illumination," Freda demonstrates a newfound confidence and versatility, embracing pop music as a vehicle. The relentless, often painful dance of love has never sounded as exhilarating as on "Going in Circles," while the strident tone poem "Water in My Lungs" conjures the unreal feeling of watching a romantic partner both figuratively and literally fade from view. "This album has a lot of themes of going fast, time passing and things changing," Freda says. Throughout, Freda and company thankfully do much of the hard work for us: falling in love, heartbreak. Watching events and moments go by like cars on the highway. People you once knew coming in and out. Grieving the loss of different phases. Watching everything happen simultaneously. For these and many other reasons, Illuminator, friends, will be the soundtrack to the throughline of your life.

"Vanatühi" by Kiwanoid is a technopagan concept album. Track titles refer to the word "nothing" in various languages.
The sonic landscape is crafted using deprecated tools: a first-generation 4-bit laptop, the DOS operating system, and a tracker program. Inspired by glitch aesthetics, the sound palette includes clicks, error noises, and low-bitrate techno sounds. Initially, the structures of the pieces may appear complex and chaotic. This electronic thicket might seem abstract, cold, and inaccessible, yet upon closer examination, it reveals a plethora of diverse species, coming across as somewhat nostalgic and warm, evoking surreal associations. From beneath towering sequoias peek pixelated ferns, LED eyes are blinking from below the undergrowth, and against the backdrop of a crackling campfire and cave paintings, a lively stomping of microchips unfolds.
Sudden contrasts, sharp cutting edges, a tachycardic bass drum engine, and irregular polyrhythms make themselves physically felt. Elsewhere, haunting lo-fi textures, hidden ambient drones, mysterious hums, and obscurely garbled samples offer introspective breathers. The dynamic range of the music is favourably extensive, and the raw imperfections of the sound are unmasked by reverb effects or other generic tools. Interwoven throughout are outsider rhythm loops, which could find a home at an alien rave party or a hobgoblin honky-tonk. Various human voice samples build a bridge to the listener, allowing them to embody a cyborg-like experience.

While each twist and turn remains unpredictable, these diverse approaches align in complementary patterns and stochastic regularities, making the whole surprisingly coherent, despite its chaos. The album doesn't bore the audience with intentionally irritating compositions or pseudocomplexity - it demands attention, but doesn't try to outrun its listeners.

With the 10th anniversary of the Pi project this year, Pi Electronics proudly presents the second Remixes 12" of the label's various artists series, featuring remixed tracks from the "Divide and Rule" compilation.

Following the first record of this compilation remixes concept, "Variable Remixes" in 2021, we now bring you the second instalment: "Divide and Rule Remixes" (PEVA04).

Original tracks by Stave, Lycurgus, Kondaktor, and Elements of Joy are remixed by label favourites Samuel Kerridge, Templeyard Studios, Monrella, and Sawf.

From the IDM-leaning industrial/noise touch of British artist Samuel Kerridge and the dreamy/slow industrial sounds of Athens' Templeyard Studios on the A side, to the noise techno chaos of Birmingham's Monrella (Mick Harris) and the sonic treatment of Greek techno pioneer Sawf on the B side, this release showcases four tracks for enthusiasts of different tastes, crafted by legends in their own right.

The Norwegian underground black metal band Kirkebrann has ventured from the early days of 2004 to now with increasingly more aggressive, misanthropic and epic themes of real-world tragedy as they unfold before our very eyes. Their frosty, rough and harsh black metal is equal to the classic early Norwegian black metal of the early ‘90s. The second full length has been in the making for almost a decade with some of those songs performed live for the same amount of time through blasphemy, blood and existential dread; featuring multiple guests on vocals of madness and triumph.

This album marks the beginning of a new era in Kirkebrann's twenty years of existence with its unrestrained force - full of blastbeats - in conveying dreadful, atmospheric and melancholic harmonies and sound of inspiration from the dark forces that are enclosing upon humanity's imminent downfall. “Mot Trellenes Forfal” was recorded by Kirkebrann with Draug on vocals, Hrafn on lead guitar, jK on guitar, Januz Skroemt Kvirinus Bifronsson on bass and Nødset on drums. The album also features guest vocals by Dødsherre (Djevelkult), Nasreten (Carpathian Forest), Cornu (Svikt), Lianne Krossburner (Edenkaiser) and Skrotmunn Blåskrott (Likfunn). It's time to release this curse upon humanity and release us from its limbo!

Originally released in 1996 as a limited fan-club pressing for Rockathon, Guided By Voices’ Tonics And Twisted Chasers has always existed as an anomaly in Robert Pollard’s vast discography. In many ways, the album serves as the tail of a creative comet that in just two years included the “classic line-up” trilogy of Bee Thousand, Alien Lanes, Under the Bushes, Under the Stars and countless singles that crammed endless hooks in their grooves. In the intervening space, Tonics And Twisted Chasers has taken on a mythic status. It’s arguably Pollard’s strangest, gnarliest, most enlightened record and also the fans first chance to see the stitches that bind his galaxy of songs. It’s like peering at the caliber inside a watch, responsible for making the whole enterprise tick. This nineteen-song collaboration with guitarist Tobin Sprout could be interpreted as spontaneous sketches, late-night improvisations, ideas that blossomed later in the timeline (“Knock ’Em Flyin’” and “Key Losers”), but as with anything in Pollard’s orbit, its intention is clear when heard as a cohesive whole. The Pollard tenet that “less is more” is on full display here. The songs rarely creep past ninety seconds and coalesce much like Pollard’s collage-styled visual art. Arena anthems in miniature (“158 Years Of Beautiful Sex”) bash up against eerie piano laments (“Universal Nurse Finger”) without any time to breathe, acoustic lullabies that sound like a Midwestern summer’s twilight (“Look It’s Baseball”) segue into monochromatic post-rock (“Maxwell Jump”). The euphoric joy and obtuse melancholy in Pollard’s voice is so palpable on the album’s standout, “Dayton, Ohio 19 Something & 5” (which has since become a live staple), that it’s impossible to find a more autobiographical yarn in his catalog. The album’s closest analog is 1993’s Vampire On Titus, as it contains that album’s prickly, dark and shimmering obfuscation that only reveals its beauty after repeated listens. Tonics And Twisted Chasers maintains the lore because the melodies are so strong. Using a primitive drum machine, Radio Shack effects, minimal instrumentation and the DIY spirit that guided them in the first place, Pollard and Sprout constructed a masterpiece of pop that could only come from a basement in north Dayton, Ohio. Anyone in that hallowed era who happened upon it, kept it as a secret.

Originally released in 1996 as a limited fan-club pressing for Rockathon, Guided By Voices’ Tonics And Twisted Chasers has always existed as an anomaly in Robert Pollard’s vast discography. In many ways, the album serves as the tail of a creative comet that in just two years included the “classic line-up” trilogy of Bee Thousand, Alien Lanes, Under the Bushes, Under the Stars and countless singles that crammed endless hooks in their grooves. In the intervening space, Tonics And Twisted Chasers has taken on a mythic status. It’s arguably Pollard’s strangest, gnarliest, most enlightened record and also the fans first chance to see the stitches that bind his galaxy of songs. It’s like peering at the caliber inside a watch, responsible for making the whole enterprise tick. This nineteen-song collaboration with guitarist Tobin Sprout could be interpreted as spontaneous sketches, late-night improvisations, ideas that blossomed later in the timeline (“Knock ’Em Flyin’” and “Key Losers”), but as with anything in Pollard’s orbit, its intention is clear when heard as a cohesive whole. The Pollard tenet that “less is more” is on full display here. The songs rarely creep past ninety seconds and coalesce much like Pollard’s collage-styled visual art. Arena anthems in miniature (“158 Years Of Beautiful Sex”) bash up against eerie piano laments (“Universal Nurse Finger”) without any time to breathe, acoustic lullabies that sound like a Midwestern summer’s twilight (“Look It’s Baseball”) segue into monochromatic post-rock (“Maxwell Jump”). The euphoric joy and obtuse melancholy in Pollard’s voice is so palpable on the album’s standout, “Dayton, Ohio 19 Something & 5” (which has since become a live staple), that it’s impossible to find a more autobiographical yarn in his catalog. The album’s closest analog is 1993’s Vampire On Titus, as it contains that album’s prickly, dark and shimmering obfuscation that only reveals its beauty after repeated listens. Tonics And Twisted Chasers maintains the lore because the melodies are so strong. Using a primitive drum machine, Radio Shack effects, minimal instrumentation and the DIY spirit that guided them in the first place, Pollard and Sprout constructed a masterpiece of pop that could only come from a basement in north Dayton, Ohio. Anyone in that hallowed era who happened upon it, kept it as a secret.

"Magdalena Bay, the Los Angeles-based duo of Mica Tenenbaum and Matthew Lewin, create magical pop music that floats in the ether of our collective social cosmos. While they call California home, their essence lies in the clouds, emitting unique yet familiar frequencies of synthesized nostalgia, kitschy catchiness, and warped neo-hooks. Suited for the times, Magdalena Bay blends the known and felt with innovative sonic landscapes.

Tenenbaum and Lewin met as teenagers in a Miami high school music program. Tenenbaum, who moved from Buenos Aires to Florida at age one, and Lewin, a guitar shredder influenced by his dad’s prog and concept rock records, quickly recognized their kindred spirits. They formed a prog band called Tabula Rasa and began a romance. Both were skilled musicians; Tenenbaum a pianist and singer, and Lewin self-taught in production and music theory. Despite attending different colleges, they maintained their band, traveling hours to rehearse before realizing two things: their relationship was undeniable, and prog rock wasn’t resonating with young audiences.

Shifting their focus to pop, they explored its craft, leading to the creation of Magdalena Bay. They learned the complexities of pop writing and production, striving to create something interesting within the genre. Describing their music broadly as ""pop,"" they released several EPs and singles before debuting their album, ""Mercurial World,"" in 2021. Praised for its melodic hooks and meticulous production, it was often labeled as ""synth-pop.""

Their success is reflected in streaming numbers, social media followers, and festival appearances. Magdalena Bay's stylized online aesthetic complements their music, creating a cohesive artistic vision. Tenenbaum says, “We love extending the world of our music past sound into videos or graphics.” Lewin adds, “We’re trying to create an atmosphere or an emotional quality with it.” This integrated approach, termed ""world-building,"" is central to their artistry."

Papa Nugs & Suckerpunch return with the second iteration of
the Nug Nation series; Nug Nation Vol. II. A break-neck four
track exploration of club friendly sonics Nug Nation Vol. II
picks off where it’s predecessor left off, borrowing from the
fundamentals of golden era house and progressive through
a modern lens. All composed in the past 6 months, the EP is
an illustration of the current sound of Papa Nugs with the Aside focusing on groove heavy tracks punctuated by diva
and hip house vocals respectively, while the §ip highlights
the more playful, energetic elements of his production aimed
for the peak hours.

Leif Maine and Jackson Mathod are thrilled to announce the August release of their album, "Volte-Face", with a single of the same name. This collaboration marks a bold new chapter in contemporary jazz, blending traditional and modern elements with great artistry and a willingness to explore many genres on one project.

"Volte-Face"is a sonic journey that showcases Maine's innovative compositions and Mathod's masterful trumpet performances. The album features a rich tapestry of sounds, from soulful melodies to intricate improvisations, capturing the essence of their dynamic synergy. Each track is meticulously crafted, promising an immersive listening experience for audiophiles and jazz enthusiasts alike.

Volte Face, the single, features rapper and Washington DC transplant (born and raised in NY), J Scienide. J has been around the great in underground Hip Hop. He shared a manager with the late and great MF DOOM, released and recorded with D-Styles from the World Famous Beat Junkies/ Invisibl Skratch Piklz, worked with super producer Daringer (Griselda Records/Action Bronson). He is regularly supported by FunkMaster Flex, Peter Rosenberg, Dj Premier, Dj House Shoes, Statik Selektah and many more.

The third album from beloved Nashville indie rockers The Medium, City Life is the first they’ve produced on their own. Recorded in their homes with the help of a few friends, this grassroots approach to recording captures them simultaneously at their most relaxed as well as their most airtight. Ironically, City Life presents the quartet sounding their most country yet – sonically embracing some of the musical territory of their hometown as well as lyrically wrestling with the challenges of its rapid changes. The band’s penchant for saccharine harmonies, hypnotic riffs, and earnest ballads cohere everything into a uniquely relevant take on a classic 70’s rock sound. The record envisions ‘city life’ as a call for a better world – a society driven by care over productivity; by community over profiteering.

Nach einer äußerst erfolgreichen Tournee mit einer Gruppe von New Yorker Musikern namens The Band Geeks im Jahr 2023 beschloss Jon Anderson, die kreative Partnerschaft mit der Band zu erweitern, um neues Material für ein mögliches neues Studioalbum zu schaffen. Das Ergebnis dieser Bemühungen ist "True".

Während seiner 39-jährigen Karriere in der Rock and Roll Hall of Fame als Leadsänger von YES galt Jon Anderson als einer der führenden Vertreter der Progressive-Rock-Bewegung. Alben wie das "YES"-Album, "Fragile", "Close to the Edge", "Tales of Topographic Oceans" und "90125" sind auch heute noch Klassiker. Während seiner Zeit bei YES veröffentlichte Jon mehrere Soloalben und Kollaborationen, von denen seine vier Alben mit dem griechischen Komponisten Vangelis besonders hervorzuheben sind, und auch nach seinem Ausstieg bei YES im Jahr 2008 veröffentlichte er Soloalben.

Das neue 9-Song-Album ist ein willkommenes Geschenk für alle Fans von Jons 40-jähriger Tätigkeit als Leadsänger der Band YES. Die Songs des Albums erinnern sowohl an den klassischen 70er-Jahre-Sound von YES als auch an ihren heutigen Erfolg mit dem Album "90125". Das Album wurde von Richie Castellano, dem Bassisten und musikalischen Leiter von Band Geek, mitproduziert, produziert und abgemischt. Das Herzstück des Albums ist der 16-einhalbminütige Titel Once Upon a Dream".

Darren Hayman New Starts are a spikey, fresh sounding band recalling the poppier ends of new wave and angular guitar rock. Their influences include The Cars, Breeders, Bay City Rollers, The Velvet Underground and ZZ Top. Lead singer Darren Hayman has his own long career running from the late 90s with John Peel faves Hefner to his more recent thematic and historical albums dealing with the English Civil War, William Morris and forgotten rural idylls. “I wanted a band again,” says Hayman, “and not a band that just backed me up and played my old songs. When we form our first bands in our teens we just find some friends and work through the musical differences. I usually look for players who play in a way I’m used to. This time I looked for variance and was led by people’s personality.” Guitarist Joely Smith of South London’s noise-pop adults and recently DIY-punks Fresh was recommended by a mutual friend who said, ‘She makes everything better’. Hayman and Smith shared a coffee and agreed on the correct number of guitar pedals and decided to proceed without an audition. “There is a tendency for me to make my chords too pretty. Joely cuts against that and plays in the opposite direction.” Hayman is a fan of rules and constraints and employed a new, oblique strategy on this record. “Even though I wrote all the songs, I wanted the songs to belong to everyone during arrangement. I decided that I would say ‘yes’ to every suggestion from the band, regardless of my instinct.” This made the songs warp and bend into new shapes and ensured that the record was the product of four individuals. Bassist Giles Barrett and drummer Will Connor come from funky afro beat influenced band Tigercats. “Pretty much the only rhythm I use, left to my own devices, is the ‘road runner’ rhythm. Will takes to care to find where the drum beat can be and we always end up somewhere I didn’t expect.” More Break Up Songs is a collection of 12 Break Up songs because Darren broke up with someone. Again. “I suck’, he says, “But it’s never anyone’s fault. It makes me very sad but I do have to work through these things in song and there’s always something to learn. I try to make songs about breakups that could be understood by both parties. I’m not interested in nasty songs.” Opening song ‘Little Stone in my Heart’ blisters along with Joely’s wildest guitars. The protagonist will do anything to make things right, but nothing ever is. ‘Under the Striplights’ has driving, choppy, incessant riffs, and is about the need to be anywhere but somewhere other than here. We could be under the moon or under the strip lights as long as we have each other. Another barely kept rule that Darren instigated on this album was that each song would be a tonal equivalent to one from The Velvet Underground’s third album. To that end ‘Don’t Need Persuading’ is this record’s ‘Pale Blue Eyes’ with the narrator being unable to break free of a vortex, knowing they will stay the night against all better judgment. ‘I’ve had a long standing distrust of the guitar,’ says Darren, ‘despite it being my primary instrument for twenty years. I thought it was time I made a record with two guitars and drums and bass. I wanted it to be bright, immediate and young sounding, despite the fact I’m old. We recorded it in four days and I think this might be the record a lot of my audience has wanted me to make for a long time.’ “bold and unique" The Sunday Times. // “Hayman has hit a creative purple patch… a treat” Mojo // “uniquely intimate and very satisfying”

The follow up album to 2019's Dusted Jazz Volume 3. Pressed on 180 gram, White & Orange Marbled Vinyl. Jenova 7 emerges once again as a beacon of auditory innovation with his latest opus, Lost Sci-Fi Movie Themes. Released under the banner of Cold Busted, this collection of 16 tracks serves as a time machine, whisking listeners away on a journey through dimensions both familiar and uncharted since his last foray with 2019's Dusted Jazz Vol. 3. Jenova 7 has meticulously crafted an album that resonates with the essence of ‘90s trip hop nostalgia while propelling us into the cosmos of futuristic soundscapes. The album's standout tracks—“The Future 1995,” “My Zero G Love,” and “Downtown Lost In The City Of Lizards”—are masterclasses in genre-blending and atmospheric storytelling. "The Future 1995" envelops one in a nebula of boom-bap beats, cosmic sound effects, and b-movie vibes, creating a sonic experience that feels like intercepting radio signals from a distant, funk-infused galaxy. Meanwhile, “My Zero G Love” floats the listener through the velvety darkness of space with its sexy lounge feel, portamento synth lines, and the undeniable funk that glimmers under starlight—evoking the sensation of grooving in weightlessness. Then, there's “Downtown Lost In The City Of Lizards,” a track that saunters through the urban jungle with sparkling keys, evocative guitar spurts, and strutting jazz bass, painting a picture as vivid and surreal as its title suggests. Jenova 7's skill lies in his ability to fuse moody, jazz-inflected samples with grooves that draw one into a distinctly atmospheric sound—a cinematic journey through time, space, and emotion. His tracks are experiences, wrapping the listener in a cocoon of vibrant soundscapes that are both introspective and expansive. Lost Sci-Fi Movie Themes is an invitation to explore the unknown, to lose oneself in the depths of imagination and emerge on the other side transformed. For DJs looking to transport their audience to another dimension and for music fans yearning for a taste of nostalgia wrapped in the allure of the future, Jenova 7's latest release is a must-discover treasure. Dive in and let the odyssey begin

Repress!

Today – Friday 9th July – artist, producer, DJ and club culture icon Peggy Gou releases the second of a pair of summer singles. Released via Gou’s own Gudu Records, “I Go” is an incredible piece of club-focused electronic music and showcases a very different sound to previous single “Nabi”.

Described by The FADER as “the kind of dazzlement you get from light dancing off of ocean water on a hot day: pure dopamine activating bliss” and Resident Advisor as “a refreshingly low-key jam”, “Nabi” was an evocative piece of slow-burning, 98bpm electronic pop, inspired by 80s synth classics, the piano pieces of renowned composer Erik Satie and the 80s and 90s Korean songs Gou's mother used to play at home during her childhood.

“I Go” takes inspiration from a similar era but this time the energy comes from Gou’s love of 90’s dance anthems, many of which she revisited during lockdown and an enforced break from touring. Both retain the hallmarks of Peggy Gou’s unique take on electronic music; at once both nostalgic and totally modern. But on “I Go”, the tempo, 808s and 909s are dialled right up for a self-motivating anthem that is set to soundtrack a summer when we can all hopefully dance together in our thousands again.

Talking about “I Go”, Peggy says:

“When I was a teenager in Korea, we didn’t have rave culture like there was in the UK. “I Go” is a tribute to that era, my own reimagination of the sounds I grew up loving. The lyrics are inspired by a note I wrote on my phone in 2019, staring at myself in the mirror of an airport toilet – I looked so exhausted but there was no way I wasn’t going to keep going! “I Go” is basically me motivating myself, finding courage and returning to a feeling of innocence. I hope people feel the same sense of positivity when they hear it”

Meanwhile, Peggy Gou is set to make a handful of DJ appearances in Europe over the summer. These include a huge sold out London event in August in the form of The Pleasure Gardens; an outdoor party in Finsbury Park created and curated by Gou herself and featuring a stellar supporting line up including DJ Harvey, Anz and Spencer.

Track List:

Next up on Aris is a particularly special one - Ireland's first electronic music 12''- Carrier Frequency's Telecaster Man, a particularly Irish take on the acid house sounds of the late 80's, that still does the job 35 years later. ''A nine minute tune with two chords, it's just f-ckin' madness mostly - distortion and drum machines.'' simply put by one of the artist himself, but it's much more really. The record originally released in 1989 was a collaborative effort featuring the talents of Mr. Spring, Leo O'Kelly of 70's folk heroes Tir Na nOg, and Trevor Knight of 80s synth pop band Auto Da Fe, Mr. Spring, a veteran of pirate radio since his early teens and the local go to studio guy for dreamers and the Depeche Mode and Talk Talk clones of the time, spearheaded the project. Drawing from his extensive experience and technical prowess, Spring had already established his own studio in 1987, equipped with state-of-the-art gear including an Atari sequencer and an Akai s900 sampler. They decided to work together on it as Spring says ''We wanted to get a Cabaret Voltaire sound to it and have a bit of fun.'' Fueled by a shared passion for experimentation and sonic exploration and inspired by the dynamic energy of the club scene and the rapidly evolving sounds of electronic music, the late-night recording sessions in Spring's studio characterized by spontaneity and innovation. The result of their collaboration was ''Telecaster Man,'' a nine-minute tour de force combining distorted guitars, hypnotic rhythms, and pulsating synthesizers. The 12 inch comes with the original and Sinewave mixes plus a new Mr. Spring remix from the original multi tracks rounding it out with the replication remix and a bonus acapella. Full colour sleeve and comes with extended liner notes.

GARDENIA is an existing land located at the Limpopo province of South Africa, right at the border with Botswana. The place's real name is Mmabolela and it's a private nature reserve covering 6500ha of subtropical savanna and part of Limpopo River.

In November 2019 I had a chance to visit the location and participate in an annual residency for composers and sound artists called 'Sonic Mmabolela', initiated and curated by Francisco López.

We lived in an isolated property in the middle of savanna having a unique opportunity to exist in undisturbed touch with the African wilderness.

For the past decade or so, Polish musician Michal Jacaszek has been exploring a new, resolutely modern chapter in Eastern Europe's long, storied love affair with classical music. His creations are painstakingly crafted collages of electronic textures and baroque instrumentation.

All the natural sounds later used to create Gardenia were captured there — during longtime recording sessions over the virgin interior of Mmabolela Reserve.


The album's field recording content was selected from several hours of birdsong, calls of frogs, insect noises, sounds of trees, bushes, grass as well as non-living natural elements like stones or shells.

These field recordings were later digitally processed and used as part of 9 musical arrangements.

However the recording sources and the location of Gardenia is defined, it was not my intention to document a South African natural soundscape nor create any other kind of strict concept album.

All I do in my work is an affirmation of beauty hidden in various aspects of the Creation. MJ

On 'Be Am' (now available only vinyl), Norwegian pianist, composer and
producer Bugge Wesseltoft has allowed his creative impulses to wander
where they may - no pre-set rules to govern the composition and
production, no obligations to (not) use electronics, not even a will to be
totally alone: this is pure playing and composition, where the music
speaks freely by whatever means it will
In the 25 years since Wesseltoft founded Jazzland Recordings, he has engaged in
numerous group projects and collaborations such as New Conception of Jazz,
duos with the likes of Sidsel Endresen, Henning Kraggerud and Henrik Schwarz,
one- off projects such as Trialogue, Bugge and Friends, and OKWorld! And of
course, the super- trio Rymden. However, it is in his solo material that we can
glimpse the true soul behind the effervescent and mercurial mind of one of the
most influential and important Norwegian musicians of an entire generation.
Many of the pieces here have the feeling of being wordless songs - indeed, no
words are needed when the notes convey all that is needed on tracks like "Tide"
or "State". The arrival of Håkon Kornstad on the track pairing of "Emergence" and
"Roads" shifts the mood from one of peace within solitude to peace within
company, the latter track being an understated dialogue, a musical soundtrack for
watching the world hustling and bustling, or sleeping its way towards a new day.
Tracks such as "Messenger", "Green" and "Be Am" throw more angular shapes,
musical shadow-play where unexpected progressions shift to moments of gospel
uplift before taking unanticipated shifts towards unexpected harmony. With "Life",
kalimba accompanied by birdsong loops, carrying us into a piece that takes
tentative but exact steps between positions, like tai chi in musical form.
"Sunbeams through leaves softly rustling" closes the album with that beautiful
Satie-like melodic simplicity that Bugge has made his own.

The Moon and the Melodies is a singular record within the Cocteau Twins" catalogue - unusually ethereal, even by their standards, and largely instrumental, guided by the free-form improvisations of Harold Budd, an ambient pioneer who had drifted into their orbit as if by divine intervention. Building on the atmospheric bliss of Victorialand, released earlier the same year, it signalled a possible future for the trio, yet it was a path they"d never take again. Now, almost forty years after it was fi rst released, it"s being reissued on vinyl for the first time - remastered, from the original tapes, by Robin Guthrie himself. Over the ensuing years, The Moon and the Melodies has attracted a passionate fan base. Its most atmospheric tracks routinely turn up in ambient DJ sets. "Sea, Swallow Me" is one of the Cocteau Twins" most streamed songs on Spotify, having found a new life on TikTok, where it serves as the soundtrack to innumerable expressions of hard-to-express melancholy. For such a low-key aff air, the album casts a long shadow - but Raymonde believes the record"s uniqueness stems directly from its humble, unpremeditated origins. "It captured a moment in time between friends that are enjoying making music together. Really, that"s the essence of it."

You could call Wishy's story a lucky one. After prior monikers and iterations, Wishy was born as a kaleidoscope of alternative music's semi-recent history, with traces of shoegaze, grunge and power-pop swirling together. On Triple Seven, Indiana songwriters Kevin Krauter and Nina Pitchkites' musical synergy proves itself to be a rare one-the kind that sounds like someone striking gold. Part sly wink and part warm gratitude, it's only fitting their much anticipated full length debut is titled Triple Seven, where Wishy's penchant for indelible hooks is couched equally in pillowy atmospherics and scathing distortion. By day Krauter works as a music teacher, giving drum and guitar lessons to students, while Pitchkites is a seamstress by trade and often makes embroidered merch for the band. Coming up in a scene defined by hardcore and emo, Krauter and Pitchkites instead found themselves writing melodies in their heads while driving to work, pulling music from the air and arriving at a blearier, more ethereal interpretation of Midwest expanse. Initially, their music oscillated between hazy dream-pop and heavier alt-rock. The subject of their songs create a loose web of vignettes and snapshots, capturing Krauter and Pitchkites in a whirlwind couple of years _ exiting the pandemic, embarking on an embryonic project, making sense of their musical pasts while forging a musical future alongside one another, each of them on a journey of self-acceptance and self-understanding. Sometimes gorgeous, sometimes festering, and always cathartic, Triple Seven is a vibrant and exhilarating document of self-discovery with the scope and heft of the bygone big-budget rock albums that inspired it.

Plush, the 1982 studio album by the Eighties synth-boogie band Plush, is a standout in the genre. The band, consisting of Siedah Garrett, Tony Phillips, and Ambrose Price, was known for their smooth blend of R&B, funk, and synth-driven melodies. Garrett, who later gained fame as a solo artist and songwriter, brought a distinctive vocal presence to the band. Not long after the band broke up, she was discovered by Michael Jackson, for who she later provided backing vocals and co-wrote ""Man In The Mirror"" with. The album was produced by Bobby Watson, René Moore and Angela Winbush. It features catchy tracks like ""Free and Easy"" and ""We’ve Got the Love,"" showcasing their polished production and soulful harmonies. Despite not achieving major commercial success, Plush has garnered a cult following for its authentic early Eighties sound. It's a significant work within the disco boogie genre, reflecting the transitional period of early Eighties music and is one of the rare and sought-after albums from that era. Plush is available on coloured vinyl for the first time as a limited edition of 500 copies on red coloured vinyl and includes an insert.

Joyous, superb music; the real deal. Hotly recommended.

Scintillating, masterful, roaring, classic Cubanismo, beautifully recorded in 2017 at the storied Areito Studio in Havana.

Descargas, jazz, boogaloo, son… and some ritual music to bring the curtain down. You’ll find yourself hungry for more.

The musicianship is dazzling in every corner of the orchestra; set on fire by the timbales of Changuito (from Los Van Van), and booted along by a hard-swinging, full brass section led by trumpeter Julito Padron, graduate of the legendary septet Nacional de Igacio Pinero, and later Irakere. The sound is steeped in tradition but by no means stuck in the past.

The vinyl is beautifully presented in a heavyweight, high-gloss gatefold.

Horse Jumper of Love thrive on patient and pummeling songs. Since 2013, the Boston trio of singer-guitarist Dimitri Giannopoulos, bassist John Margaris, and drummer James Doran have slowly stretched the fringes of indie rock across five full-length LPs. Their music unwinds with gutting emotional intensity thanks to Giannopoulos' impressionistic lyrics and how the arrangements violently lurch from delicate to bludgeoning. Disaster Trick, the band's new album out August 16 via Run For Cover, is their most direct and uncompromising LP yet. Its 11 songs tackle self-destructiveness and healing with jolting lucidity. Where the band's last LP 2023's Heartbreak Rules excelled with quiet, bare-bones songwriting, Disaster Trick cranks up the volume and boasts some of the most expansive arrangements of the band's catalog. Recorded at Asheville, North Carolina's Drop of Sun Studios with producer Alex Farrar, the recordings soar with searing guitars and a thunderous rhythm section. "I tried the quiet thing on the last album and I realized there's definitely two parts of me: I like really heavy music, and I like really gentle music," says Giannopoulos. "The two albums I was listening to the most, while we were in the studio were the Leonard Cohen's Songs From a Room and Hum's Downward is Heavenward." Disaster Trick is a dark record but it's never dour. There's a glimmer of hope and humor throughout these 11 songs, written with the grace that only time and growing up can bring. As he sings on "Death Spiral," "I know it sounds dramatic / But I must describe / The way that it felt." There's catharsis when it's needed most. "This album is a reflection on destructive behavior from a lens of more clarity," says Giannopoulos. "A lot of the songs came out of this point where things in my life were going well but I couldn't accept it. I was being a brat. Disaster Trick is me cleaning up my act a bit and reflecting on it."